True Love and Regrets
by Issylt
Summary: Ana thinks Drustan is the most perfect man in her life. Until she finds him in the arms of another woman. Will she find comfort in the arms of Faolan, her old lover, or has he given his heart to someone else? Mostly FaoEile
1. Betrayed

**Don't own any of the characters here. **

**Warning: this IS a parody about Ana/Drustan, so if you're a fan of them, this isn't for you! Don't say I didn't warn you! **

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Ana, beautiful Princess of the Light Isles, stood outside in the gardens of Broichan's cottage, combing out her long gold hair as she hummed a traditional love song. Nothing in the world could stop her from smiling as her mind conjured up images of her betrothed, Drustan: tall, muscular, handsome beyond measure with his head of fine, tawny hair, his warm smile, his bright, starlike eyes.

Oh, how she loved Drustan! She had known from the first moment she had met him that he was the perfect man for her. No fault could be found in him; he was so kind, wise, brave, strong, and embodied the true meaning of goodness. She had always known that Alpin had lied to her when he had told her Drustan was a madman who needed to be confined.

She had to go see him now. She could barely bear to be parted from Drustan for too long. She needed those eyes to be regarding her with their warm love, and his strong arms encircling her, making her feel as though no-one else in the world mattered.

She headed straight to the room she and Drustan now shared and opened the door without knocking.

And automatically went very still, suddenly feeling as if a million spears had pierced her heart and shattered it completely. Her whole body went very cold, and Ana found herself almost sinking into a deep faint on the spot.

For, on the bed, now lay her fiancé Drustan in the embrace of another woman.

**Ok, guys, just to let you know, this will be a very short story with only 3-4 chapters, and each one will be pretty short too. Please review and tell me honestly what you think. Thank you! **


	2. Confrontation

Ana was so shocked she could not seem to move or react in any way. Her brain seemed capable of registering only the sight of her lover in bed with some other woman.

The woman moaned with pleasure and tightened her arms around Drustan's neck. Ana could no longer keep quiet. A cry of pure outrage and hurt escaped her mouth, threatening to tear apart her throat. Drustan and the woman immediately jerked up, gasping at the sight of Ana standing by the doorway. At least they had enough sense and modesty to quickly pull apart, grabbing the blanket to conceal their bare bodies.

"Ana, what are you doing here?" Drustan cried. "I thought you said you were going for a walk further in the woods with…"

"Traitor! Liar!" Ana exploded. "Who…w…"

Drustan's woman straightened herself to look boldly at Ana. She was indeed a great beauty, far fairer even than Ana, with smooth, crystal-clear skin, deep violet eyes and long, pitch-black hair. Her slender, well-curved body was more than enough to seduce any man with a single look. If it were not for Drustan there on the bed next to her, Ana would have immediately dealt her an almighty slap hard enough to break her face.

"Is this your betrothed, Drustan?" the dark-haired beauty enquired sweetly, looking at Ana up and down. "A real beauty, I…"

"Who are you? How dare you lie here with my fiancé and…"

"I am Drustan's true sweetheart," the woman smiled. "He said ever since…"

"Deryn, I'll deal with this," Drustan said quickly. "You'd better go now. I can handle this."

"Goodbye, beloved." Deryn leaned forward and gave Drustan a seductive kiss on the mouth, her hands against his chest. "I will come back to you soon."

"Farewell, Deryn," Drustan responded, somewhat stiffly. He took no notice of her as she wrapped the blanket around herself and departed from the room.

Ana strode across the chamber and slapped Drustan on the face, hard, taking surprising pleasure in the sight of her scarlet handprint across his fair skin. "You're a sick traitor, Drustan! You said you'd love me forever! How dare you bring some woman into bed and act as though it means nothing to me?"

"Ana, will you be calm and listen?"

"Listen? To what? How you first met Deryn and let her seduce you?"

"Ana, I still love you, believe me. But ever since you lost our baby, you've been so ill and weak that we've had no chance for intimacy. I – I just needed to find an…outlet to…release…let out…"

"Your lust?" Ana cried shrilly. "And you dare say you still love me? What liars men are! I should have never given myself to you so quickly! How could I have been so blinded by your beauty that I failed to see the real you? Oh, what a fool I have been!"

"Ana, I still love…"

"Be silent!" Ana snapped. "This is over now! There will be no further union between us! No more trust exists between us now. Go, Drustan. May I never see your face again."

"No, Ana." Drustan leaped off the bed and immediately took Ana into his arms. "Ana, my beloved, please don't…

Ana cried out with rage and instantly pulled away from his arms, disgusted at his touch.

"I said it's over, and I mean it. Go find Deryn or some other woman who you can take out your lust on. I will not let myself be joined to a man who can't even control himself. Leave this place, or I will tell Faolan to drag you out by force. Get out!"

"Faolan will not do so," Drustan said quietly.

"We'll see about that. He's my friend, remember, you fool?" With that, the red-faced princess spun round on her heels and strode away to find Faolan, so that Drustan might not see how her eyes were already blinded by tears of rage and grief.

**Yes, I know, the characters will pretty much be very OOC, I'm warning you. Just thought to give Drustan another side, since he seemed too perfect in the Blade of Fortriu. **

**Please review, thanks! **


	3. Rejected

Weeping, Ana went to the room Faolan now occupied, and knocked, wiping away her tears furiously. For several seconds, there was only silence, and then Faolan finally opened the door, looking at Ana with surprise.

"Ana, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Sobbing, Ana blurted out everything, how she had found Drustan in bed with another woman, how he had broken her heart, how he had broken faith with her.

"Drustan? In bed with someone else?" Faolan repeated incredulously. "I always thought you thought of him as the embodiment of perfection and goodness. What are you talking about now? Are you alright?"

"I saw it!" Ana cried. "Drustan made no effort to conceal it. He said he needed to take out his lust on someone else since he couldn't do it on me. Oh gods! This is unbearable! Faolan, I need you!" Without giving Faolan time to respond, Ana threw herself into Faolan's arms, clinging onto him desperately as she wet his shirt entirely with her tears.

"Ana, please." Faolan pulled away awkwardly. "If Eile sees us like this…I don't want her to think…"

"What does Eile have to do with this?" Ana demanded.

"I don't want her to think we're lovers."

"You can't even give comfort to a friend in need?"

Faolan bit back the words that automatically sprung to mind: _you didn't exactly comfort me either when I was in need. You broke my heart and just sent me off. _Aloud, he finally replied, "How am I to comfort you now? You know what I am: assassin, spy, warrior. I have no time for pretty words like you and Drustan."

"Faolan, please, just hold me."

"Not here. Not where Eile can see us."

"Why would she care?"

"I will not make her jealous," Faolan responded. "Clearly, you nothing of this yet. But me and Eile are more than just friends. I will not break her already torn-up heart by letting her believe you and I are lovers. You know we can never be that."

"I just need your comfort, your advice. Nothing more."

"What can I say, Ana? In the forest, I did warn you, did I not, that all men can lie? But you wouldn't believe it of Drustan. You already thought him the perfect, most honest man you could find. I always knew there was more than Drustan than just pure perfection. But you wouldn't accept it. I'm sorry, Ana, but there's nothing I can do. You'll have to deal with this on your own."

"Oh, Faolan, how can you be so cruel?"

"Cruel? How about you, then? You broke my heart and just sent me off, when none of us were even sure whether or not my family would forgive me. And you call _me _cruel? I'm not, Ana. Not in that sense. Eile has been hurt more than once; I will not break her heart again. Besides, I no longer love you. I did once. No more. I was blinded by what I thought was wisdom, courage and nobility in you. I did not see that you yourself were blinded by Drustan's apparent virtues and manly beauty. Only a fool judges someone so quickly. From the start, I knew that your feelings for Drustan were mere infatuation, not true love. No-one can possibly truly love each other so soon. It's over, Ana. I can do nothing more for you. Eile needs me more than you do." Faolan turned and walked away.

"Faolan?" Ana's voice was a whisper.

"What?"

"If me and Drustan had never met, would it have worked out? You and me?"

"Who can say? But then, it's best it never did. If you had loved me in return, I would never have returned to my home. Then I would never have met Eile and Saraid. Leave me be, Ana. You brought this on yourself, you and Drustan. Goodbye."

Ana fled into the garden and wept out her heart. This was a wound time would never heal. As long as she lived, she would always live with regret and shame. Faolan was right; she had brought this on herself. Everything was her fault; she never should have trusted Drustan to soon. How could she have thought that Drustan was the right man for her just because he was so handsome and apparently so good, so kind?

And she had neglected Faolan, who all along been the one she should have loved, even if he was no more than a Gaelic spy and assassin with no feelings.

When she had finished weeping, Ana wiped away her tears and straightened herself once more. She was still a princess and of royal blood; she would conduct herself with dignity and nobility. If there was no place for her here, then she would leave for Fortriu once more and settle down again. Her old friend Queen Tuala resided there and would undoubtedly welcome her.

Sniffing, Ana returned to the house to pack her things.

**Review please! FaoEi will be up soon, once I've got enough reviews. **


	4. True Love

Eile sat miserably on her bed, staring down at her pale hands and the floor. Saraid, her three-year old daughter, lay next to her, sleeping soundly, Sorry held tightly in her skinny arms. Not even the peace her daughter could now experience could cheer up Eile.

She had known for quite some time now that she harboured more than just friendship and gratitude for Faolan, her truest friend and companion. Not that she had ever admitted them openly. Eile had never been good with words, and in some ways, she still feared intimacy with any man, if not quite as much with Faolan. The memory of her sick uncle Dalach hurting her, robbing her of her chastity and innocence still made her shudder. If Faolan had not come to her rescue…no, she would not think of that.

Then she had seen Ana hugging Faolan outside his room, like a lover. Eile had been unable to watch any further, and had silently retreated to her room to brood. How foolish she was, to think that Faolan might return her feelings. Why would he, when he had someone like Ana to love, beautiful, highborn, wealthy, noble? She, Eile, was just some sluttish girl whose daughter was her own uncle's child, with no beauty or intelligence of wealth.

Someone knocked on the door quietly. With a weary sigh, Eile strode over to it and pulled it open, looking up at Faolan with surprise.

"Faolan! Why are you here? What do you want?" Eile could not keep the hostility out of her voice.

"Why are you so angry at me?" Faolan enquired gravely, immediately noticing the tone of her voice.

"I saw Ana hugging you outside your room," Eile replied miserably. "You think I have no eyes or brains? I know what she means to you; I know how much you love her."

"_Loved _her. She can never be more than a friend to me now."

"Don't torment me with your lies!" Eile snapped, keeping her voice down. "Please, Faolan. Just go." Eile tried to retreat and shut the door, but Faolan was far quicker and managed to place his booted foot between the door and frame.

"I thought you trusted me, Eile. I'm telling you the truth: I no longer love Ana. I did once, at least, I thought I did, but things change. My heart belongs to someone else now."

Eile merely shook her red-haired head. "Enough, Faolan. I've heard enough. Stop telling me how many women you've loved."

Faolan took a step forward, keeping an eye on her face, and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Eile, it's _you _I love. Believe me, I love you far more than I ever loved Ana. She means nothing much to me anymore. If you cannot love…"

"Faolan, you already know what's been done to me. I am not some chaste, beautiful, wealthy woman; I cannot give you what you want."

Faolan did not bother to verbally reply to this. Instead, he merely pulled Eile close and kissed her, careful to keep it gentle, without force. He felt Eile's thin shoulders tightening, her breath ceasing in her throat, before her hand came up to his face, her lips returning his kiss.

"I'm sorry, Eile." Faolan pulled back at last and eyed her cautiously.

"Don't apologize to me." Eile pressed close to Faolan, not wanting him to release her. "You've done nothing wrong. But why this all of a sudden? Why did you choose to give up Ana?"

"She was blinded by her own convictions," Faolan replied, hugging Eile close. "She chose to believe that Drustan was a perfect, stainless man after but a meeting or two with him in the woods. Of course, as I suspected, he wasn't all that perfect after all. She brought this on herself; I will not interfere. Perhaps now she has learned what can happen when you judge someone based on their appearance. Drustan might be a comely man, yes, but his heart isn't all that pure. Ana will have to deal with things on her own now."

"Mmm." Eile barely registered a word he had said. The pleasure of being in his arms far overrode anything else. "Well, if she's so strong and wise, I'm sure she'll manage."

Faolan raised Eile's head and kissed her again, passionately. He felt Eile smiling, resting her head on his chest. _This _was everything they had dreamed of, each other's love, kindness and courage. They were the lucky ones to have found each other; Ana might have had the handsomest man in the land as her lover, but they had each other, and nothing in the world would compare to that.

**Finis! End of story! Yes, I know it's badly written, sorry, but I got really bored, and wanted to finish this quickly. Anyhow, it is a parody (as I've warned you), so please don't expect it to be too accurate or sensible. **

**To everyone who's reviewed, thanks a million! **

**Toodles. **


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